8/21/22, 10:04 PM What are Flashovers and clearance in electronic equipment?

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PRODUCTS APPLICATIONS EE FORUMS EE LEARNING CENTER VIDEO RESOURCES

Flashovers and clearance in electronic

equipment
FEBRUARY 17, 2017 BY JOSHUA ISRAELSOHN — LEAVE A COMMENT

Electronic circuits accomplish so much with single-digit supply voltages that it’s easy to lose
track of the precautions that higher-voltage circuits demand. But getting to those single-digit
supplies often requires power-train sections operating at hazardous potentials. Although
human safety is a key concern, it isn’t the only one. If sufficient clearances aren’t maintained
between conductive surfaces, voltages sufficiently high to ionize the air between result in

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8/21/22, 10:04 PM What are Flashovers and clearance in electronic equipment?

arcing events that are most often destructive and, at best, compromise equipment robustness
and reliability.

Although potentials generally run downhill from power entry to point of load, they often don’t
do so monotonically. For example, PFC (power-factor correction) blocks often present outputs
that operate in the neighborhood of 400 V —- substantially higher than their mains power-
entry voltages. Even some battery-powered applications generate high potentials. The flash
circuits in portable so-called speedlite strobes for digital cameras typically operate at around
300 V, derived most often from either a small Li-ion pack or from a few NiMH batteries and
one heck of a boost converter.

In many industrial
applications, sensor
nodes require galvanic
isolation from the
control system tested
to 1.5 kV. Although
most circuits on either
side of the isolation
barrier operate on
common single-digit
supplies, the barrier
itself must include
sufficient spacings to
In the U.S. most ac or battery-powered IT equipment must follow, the prevent flashover due
minimum allowed PCB spacing given by UL 60950-1 2nd Edition. It to the high common-
specifies clearance and creepage distances for various grades of mode voltages
insulation as functions of working voltage, pollution degree, PCB material applications can
group and coating.
impose on these
nodes.

As opposed to voltage-related failure mechanisms that can result from incremental

degradation over long periods, flashovers are initiated by instantaneous conditions – the peak
transient applied voltage key among them. Unlike momentary voltage excursions, however,
other contributors to the instantaneous conditions tend toward less dynamic behaviors and
modulate over longer intervals and are, therefore, easier to neglect in the context of transient
events.

For example, the ionization of air is a function of not just instantaneous voltage, but also
temperature, relative humidity, altitude, and concentration and type of pollutants. So your
design and design-evaluation criteria must anticipate these real-world environmental
variables. Certain aspects of your design, not otherwise associated with clearance
considerations, can also play a role in a product’s field performance. For example, forced-air

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8/21/22, 10:04 PM What are Flashovers and clearance in electronic equipment?

fans -— part of the thermo-mechanical design quite divorced from circuit operating conditions
-— can draw in humidity and pollutants to a far greater degree than would be the case with
passively-cooled or liquid-cooled designs without air blowers.

Standards tend to promulgate along two primary axes: by geopolitical region according to
regulating body or other standards authority, and by application. Major originators of standards
have, in recent decades, recognized the need for equipment manufacturers to supply a global
marketplace and have put significant effort into harmonizing standards when practical.

Standards, therefore, increasingly tend to be differentiated primarily by application. Many

standards organizations have tried to group applications to the extent that’s practical, but the
effort can be limited. For example, patient-connected medical equipment and laboratory gear
may share a great deal in common with regard to their operating temperature, humidity,
altitude, and types and concentrations of pollutants. In some ways, medical equipment may
enjoy a more benign set of operating conditions. Nonetheless, medical applications most
always demand more stringent standards if for no other reason than that the consequences of
failure are more dire than for, say, a rack of ATE gear.

UL 61010 – Safety Requirements for Electrical Equipment for Measurement, Control, and Laboratory
Use identifies four baseline operating environments

One approach to codifying pollutant type and concentration is based on simple, qualitative
descriptions of the operating environment because referencing specific pollutants and
concentrations drives up the cost of compliance without adding a corresponding degree of
benefit. For example, UL 61010 – Safety Requirements for Electrical Equipment for
Measurement, Control, and Laboratory Use (harmonized with IEC EN 61010) – identifies four
baseline operating environments and stipulates spacing requirements for each. So
determining spacing minimums isn’t as simple as plugging a voltage level into an equation or
looking it up in a single, universally applicable table.

FILED UNDER: FAQ, FEATURED

TAGGED WITH: BASICS, FAQ, UL 60950-1 2ND EDITION, UL 61010

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